Appropriate scenario for custom adapter?

[Former Member]

Hi,

I have a situation whereby I need Netweaver PI to send messages to an external system via a Java API provided by the system vendor. Behind the scenes the Java API uses JMS for the actual communication but we have been instructed by the vendor that we should not attempt to use JMS directly for various reasons.

I am thinking that a custom adapter which wraps the Java API would be the most appropriate solution for this scenario. Never having written an adapter before, I'm curious if this is a good idea?

If it is a good idea, a follow-up question would be : Is writing an adapter generally considered to be a difficult/time-consuming task or should it not be much more complicated than writing, for example, a java message mapper? I've looked at the sample adapter code and it looks a bit overwhelming.

Thanks,

Steve

[stefan_grube · Accepted solution]

Depending in your PI version you could either use a java proxy or a web service.

This can run on the same server as PI. The effort for a web service is minor compared to a whole adapter.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

We are running Netweaver PI 7.3. I've never used Java proxies and so I hadn't considered that approach. I've briefly researched it and that seems like the way to go. Thank you for the suggestion. 

[iaki_vila]

Hi Steve,

A few cents. Also you can consider to develop a module adapter for existing standard adapter. It's an intermedium approach and quicker than to develop an entire adapter.

Regards.

[iprieto]

Hi Steve,

  In general, custom adapters are more difficult to implement that mapping programs or Adapter Modules.

  In many cases, as you said, there are multiple vendors that use their own APIs for communicate to applications, in this cases it's possible that custom adapters will be better options that the use of standars adapters or Adapter Modules.

   In resume, custom adapters have to be written using JCA architecture that it has own  API and it's not JavaEE application. It's make quite different  the implementation between each component. Custom Adapter is more like POJO implementation, you must to use Java perspective in NWDS, etc.

   In my opinion there are multiple advantages to use custom adapter due you can monitoring or manage that components as stardard communication channel, reusability and easy configuration using Integration Builder.

   Depends of the funcionality to you implement the time is about fifteen days or one month from you analizes, design and implement the adapter. In our cases the implementation is about a month.

Best regards

Iván